Mount Rainier National Park (Day 3)

After a good night's sleep I did manage to get ready to leave early in the morning on Day 3, the final day of the trip. My flight back was from Seattle at 7:45 pm PST. I checked out of Paradise Inn at 7:00 am in the morning.

Sunrise, located at 6400 ft above sea level is the highest point that can be reached by vehicle at Mount Rainier National Park. Mid-summer is the time to visit this area due to the abundance of wild flowers amongst Meadows next to the Vistor Center. Emmonds, Winthrop and Carbon glaciers are the three most prominent glaciers located on the North side of the mountain and appear close from the look out points at Sunrise. Being on the South Side, I had to head South East and then to the North towards the North East entrance to head West and get to Sunrise Vistor's Center.

After almost three hours I made it to Sunrise. My first view of Mount Rainier from this area was at a view point with a vacant parking lot, amidst some cloud cover. The views were pretty in all directions except for the lack of bright sunlight. I gladly obliged to click some photographs for an old Japanese couple who were delighted by the scenery.

The visitor's center was closeby. The brief halt allowed me to charge by camera battery to a level enough to last me the rest of the day. A look through the telescope at the visitor's center provided an upclose glimpse of the expanse of the glaciers at the top. 5 hikers were visible below the area around Liberty Cap that is located at 14122 ft.

I went on a short hike to a ridge behind the Visitor's center and then to a view point of the Emmons Glacier. After an hour of hiking it was time to grab a bite. I had picked up a sandwich for lunch at the gas station at Packwood.

Glaciers, rain forests, miles of trails, a 14 K mountain summit, alpine mountain meadows, waterfalls, a rustic mountain lodge, remnants and traces of volcanic activity, geological history, curvacious roads with everchanging vistas, Mount Rainier National Park has it all. It's truly a source of inspiration as per ones area of liking.

A 2 hour drive brought me to Seattle. I had planned a visit to Space Needle of Seattle. This area is located North of Sea-Tac airport. The outer deck provides views of the city in all directions. Mount Baker and Mount Rainier are clearly visible on clear days.

After a 2 hour of looking around it was time to head to the airport. A quick snack and a short drive South, brought me to the airport and to the end of this memorable trip to Mount Rainier NP in Washington State.